Subject: A bee like bug I can’t identify Geographic location of the bug: Washington state Date: 10/16/2018 Time: 07:22 PM EDT Your letter to the bugman: I am a 5th grade science teacher who has her students collect and identify bugs as part of our insect unit. This is the second time in three years this insect has shown up and I have not been able to figure out what it is with any of the North American guides we use. (Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, and others specifically dealing with the Pacific Northwest). The bug pictured is about 1 inch long with a wingspan of 2 inches. I hope you can help me identify it. Not knowing is driving me crazy! How you want your letter signed: Rebecca Swier, Ebenezer Christian School

Elm Sawfly

Dear Rebecca, Perhaps if this individual had a head, identification might have been easier for you. This is an Elm Sawfly, Cimbex americana, and here is a BugGuide image for reference. Sawflies are non-stinging members of the order Hymenoptera, a group that includes wasps and bees. They have larvae that look like caterpillars.

Subject: Not sure what this is Geographic location of the bug: Fishhawk Falls, Oregon Date: 08/26/2018 Time: 07:42 AM EDT Your letter to the bugman: Hi, I’m a photographer. I spotted this little guy the other day and thought it was some kind of caterpillar but, it doesn’t match anything I’ve seen in the area. as far as I know Its a larva to some bug . Thank you for your time. How you want your letter signed: FilthyPerfection

Sawfly Larva

Dear FilthyPerfection, Though it looks like a caterpillar, this is actually a Sawfly larva, and Sawflies are non-stinging relatives of bees and wasps. Based on this BugGuide image and this BugGuide image, we are confident it is Trichiosoma triangulum. According to BugGuide: “Larvae feed on leaves of alders (Alnus), ash (Fraxinus), poplars (Populus), willows (Salix), cherries (Prunus).”

Subject: Caterpillar ID Geographic location of the bug: North Georgia, USA Date: 08/11/2018 Time: 12:01 PM EDT Your letter to the bugman: Please help ID this caterpillar. I know it’s not monarch. It is boring into wood. How you want your letter signed: Dave Paulison

Carpenter Moth Caterpillar

Dear Dave, We are feeling very confident this is a Carpenter Moth Caterpillar in the family Cossidae because of its resemblance to this South African relative, tentatively identified as Macrocassus toluminus, though there are no matching images posted to BugGuide where it states: “Larvae are wood-boring.” But for the color, it also looks very much like both this posting from our archives and a this posting in our archives which we now believe are also Carpenter Moth larvae in the family Cossidae, but we are uncertain of the species. Breeding Butterflies has an interesting article on the European Goat Moth, Cossus cossus, another species in the family, and the site states: “The larvae of this moth do not feed on the leaves of the host plant – instead they bore tunnels though the wood, and live internally inside their host trees. Because of this habit, they are considered a harmful species; most caterpillars defoliate plants by consuming all their leaves. While definitely not beneficial for the health of the host plant, most plants and trees are able to recover from being defoliated. Burrowing directly through the trunks of trees is another story however, and is generally not the type of damage that trees can recover from. Because of this, a few larvae have the potential to kill even larger trees. And because their host plants include trees of economic value such as apple, cherry, walnut or olive, most farmers do not consider them welcome guests.” We hope we can eventually provide a species identification for all three of our postings that all originate from Georgia and Florida.

Carpenter Moth Caterpillar

Correction: Sawfly LarvaThanks to Cesar Crash from Insetologia in a comment with a link to Oregon State University, we concur that this appears to be a Dogwood Sawfly Larva, Macremphytus lovetii. The site states: “The larvae leave the dogwood to pupate and will burrow into soft wood, and possibly soil, so house siding near a plant may be pitted with pupating chambers. Further damage may occur to structures from woodpeckers seeking to feed on the overwintering insects.” Though BugGuide does not report the species from Georgia, it is reported from many eastern states, including North Carolina.

Dear Roger, This is a male Horntail in the genus Urocerus, which we identified thanks to this BugGuide image, and there is a comment attributed to Dave Smith on that posting that states: “Urocerus sp., male. Could be either U. albicornis or U. flavicornis. The males are difficult to separate.” Horntails are sometimes called Wood Wasps, but they do not sting, and no male wasps are capable of stinging anyways. Here is an image from our archives of the female Urocerus albicornis and here is an image of the female Urocerus flavicornis. The ovipositor of the female is used to lay eggs beneath the bark of conifer trees and its appearance is responsible for the common name Horntail.

Subject: a flying insect , black with red on bottom Geographic location of the bug: Luzerne county, PA Date: 08/05/2018 Time: 05:02 PM EDT Your letter to the bugman: I never saw this insect before. It resembles a wasp and looks like it has a stinger on it’s end, the abdomen is a bright red , has wings and the rest of it black. How you want your letter signed: Dan

Black and Red Horntail

Dear Dan, The only other image we have on our site of a Black and Red Horntail, Urocerus cressoni, looks amazingly like your image. According to BugGuide: “hosts include Fir, Spruce, and Pine (Abies, Picea, Pinus).”